Tongs



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM- E. WOOD, OF HOUSTON, TEXAS.

TONGS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 297,736, dated April 29, 1884.

Application filed August 22, 1883. (No model.) I

To aZZ whom it may concern: I

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. \VOOD, a citizen of the United States. of America, residing'at Houston, in the county of Harris and State of Texas, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tongs; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,

and to letters or figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification, and in which I Figure 1 is a side elevation, the dotted lines showing the position of the movable leg when the tongs are opened. Figs. 2, 3, and 4 are details. 1

My invention relates to certain devices for preventing the legs of tongs from twisting, overlapping, or becoming cross-legged. This is a common fault in almost all tongs when the joint wears a little loose, and is entirely over come and prevented by my invention, the particular construction and arrangement of which I will now proceed to describe.

Referring to the drawings, A is the handle of the tongs; B, the stationary leg, having the slot (1. in its upper portion near the handle. 0 is a stationary arm, having the slot 1) extending from the handle A to its lower end. D is the movable leg, pivoted to the lower end of the arm 0, and having the extension E, which extends up to the handle A. When the tongs are closed, the extension E fits in the slot 1). When the tongs are opened, the extension E enters the slot at, as shown in dotted lines,

Fig. 1. By the use of this extension E and slots a and b, the legs of the tongs are at all times held in the same plane and prevented from twisting or overlapping.

If desired, the lower portion of the stationary leg B may be formed of a separate piece and riveted to the upper slotted portion, as shown in Fig. 4,; also, the portion forming the slotted arch may be made in either one or two pieces.

I am aware that tongs have heretofore been provided with adevice for preventing the legs from becoming twisted, consisting of an extension of the upper part of the pivoted leg or arm entering a slot in a cross-bar extending across the top of the tongs, as shown in the patent of I. A. Murchison, No. 282,105, and I do not claim anything therein described. My invention dispenses with the slotted cross-bar, and, by having the slots in the upper part of the stationary leg and short arm, provides a simpler, stronger, and cheaper construction than the one shown in the patent referred to.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

In a pair of tongs, the stationary leg B, having the slot a, and the stationary arm 0, having the slot 6, in combination with the movable leg D, pivoted to the arm 0, and having the extension E, substantially as shown and 

